Shan's Thai QL Must Watches

Spectacular acting and chemistry, good writing with nuanced discussion about socioeconomic issues, very good exploring side characters, top notch action, the romance is key to the bigger plot instead of being something happening parallelly, DELICIOUS slow burn and DELICIOUS breaking of said slow burn, and with one of the most overall satisfying endings I've seen in a Thai BL. 

And speaking more technically, the directing and photography shine so bright it's blinding in this drama.

This one caught my attention first solely for the differentiated plot, and it delivered so well even within so few episodes it's turned into one of my all-time favs. Visual narrative is flawless, I've honestly seen too few Thai QL with such a bold approach, maybe never. Incredibly charismatic characters, no matter how grey they are, the cohesion of the plot is stunning, and the pacing is perfect. Honestly one of the best things I've ever watched in my life.

With impeccable visuals, this is a dramatic drama with a very sensible coming-of-age story. The plot is nothing super elaborate, but the execution is flawless. Insanely well-written, with amazing chemistry between the leads and perfect acting. And besides all of this, one of the best things in it is the OST. Such amazing original songs!

It's a bit hard to go so unabashedly political like Not Me goes, and just for that it's commendable. It's a great story about privilege, trauma and finding a common ground in your ideals. Great acting, action and narrative, with one of the best side couples in any Thai BL. Also maybe the greatest OST of any QL.

Father of Thai BLs, it was popular for a reason. Nothing mindblowing, but SOTUS is the Dragon Ball of Thai BLs - it carved and paved the way so we could have what we do nowadays. We can see a lot of its legacy in contemporary Thai BL, but some still struggle to do it the way it did, and that's where its charm comes from.

This charming drama may look silly at first but it quickly shows we're going to dive into the main characters' heads and understand them little by little. The portrayal of trauma in this is one of the realests I've seen. It can get pretty devastating fast. But it can also get adorable just as fast. The development of the romance feels like a slow full body hug, little by little enveloping you, warm and comfortable. Lovely, lovely story.

Technically not a QL but still worth adding on any list of Thai favs I ever make, 3WBF doesn't shy away from heavy social criticism and makes its very progressive point of view very clear. The title could not be better to describe the story - but it's not just about the main 3 characters. Also, we need more canon throuples!

Moral questioning is one of my favorite topics. This one is less about the romance and more about the choices we make and how they can affect other people's lives. The atmosphere is constantly oppressive and tense, and you can only ever find a bit of relief in the romance, but more often than not even not there. Another huge banger by queen Sammon.

This show fights between being devastating and being fun. With it being movie themed, the visual narrative is on point with it, drinking from movie references and showing it in the editing and directing. Characters so charismatic that even when you want to hate them, you can't. The shift in the point of view of the story midway through is one of the most clever narrative moments in Thai BL.

IMPECCABLE. You may get a bit annoyed with Armin at first, but then it reminds you over and over how traumatized he is, and then you get charmed by Thada along with him and want everything to work out for them. Chemistry off the charts with these two. The narrative, mystery, conclusion, everything is so good you can understand why it swept so many awards. 

Also Thada? You won't meet such a devastatingly loser simp like him anywhere else. I love him.

Honestly this is a hidden gem that I mourn is not more widely appraised. It's not a groundbreaking take on time traveling, but it definitely is when it's about a high school setting. I feel people are a bit too hard on Win, when it's one of the most down-to-earth reactions to time traveling, especially when you're such a depressed loser adult who didn't have any of his life together even at the age of 44. This show is not as cute as you'd expect. It can get dark, and it can get very very sad, very often. But it can also get very very warm when you most need it.

What I like the most in it is the family circles. Family is incredibly important in this drama be it for good or bad. Win's father is father of all time. What a goat.

Plus points to the fact the music is actually theirs!

A proper horror BL, I can't believe it! I've been waiting for this moment for so long, and GBYFT delivered. The absolute high of this drama are the make up and directing. They're so good it still blows my mind. Very good pacing, the murder mystery is actually extremely interesting, and the romance feels like a caress in the middle of so much gore.